Reader Question:

Hello,

I really need your help. I have a 9 month old baby and my A/C doesn’t work!!!! I have a 2001 Ford explorer sport. When i bought this truck 3 months ago the air would blow but it was all hot air. We thought it just needed charged but its fully charged. Now, its gotten to the point where it won’t blow any air AT ALL.  Where should i start? What should i do?

I am a single mom and know nothing of cars.

Thank you so much,
i hope to hear from you

lisa

Hi Lisa

If no air what so ever comes out of the vent I would start by checking the fuses and the blower motor which is under the hood on the passenger firewall. You should lightly tap on the blower motor with a hammer with the engine running and AC and blower switch on high speed. That can sometime kick start a bad blower motor. I would then check the blower switch in the dashboard but usually the  blower motor is the culprit

Blessings
Austin Davis

Reader Follow Up

Hello!
First, Thank you sOO SOO Much for your help. you are a god send!

Ok got the blower motor working but now its just spitting out hot air instead of cold air. So, i got that device and its all charged and free-on is full….But still hot air…So what would you suggest now?

Thanks again!

Lisa

Hello Again Lisa

I would make sure the AC compressor is coming on and the compressor clutch is engaged and turning the compressor.  Turn on engine, open hood, turn on compressor and you should hear a click and see the compressor clutch start up and turn the compressor.  If it does not come on, you need to check fuses and relays, the dash switch and power to the compressor.

If the compressor is turning, then get a mechanic to hook up the gauges and see what the pressures are in the system, I would bet you have no Freon inside the system due to a leak somewhere.  Adding freon and locating and repairing the leak is the next step.

Austin Davis

The 3 most commonly asked questions that I get are:

1. How do I know if I have a head gasket leak?

2. How can I sue my mechanic or get my money back for faulty repairs?

3. How can I lower my auto insurance rates?

#3 is very easy to do, the others are not so easy.  This site receives well over 9,000 visitors a day and I would assume 80% of those visitors could EASILY cut their auto insurance expense by 20-30% if they would take just 5 minutes and compare their rates against other insurance carriers.  It’s totally free….and there are no obligations at all, so why would you leave this page without at least checking?

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Reader Question: Hi

I have a broken stud on one of my rear wheel hubs. The nut is still on the stud and just spins when I try to undo it. I have tried to find a way to cut it off or pull the nut so the stud grips and undoes but nothings working. I figure I might need to drill out the stud and nut… Any other ideas?

Cheers

Chris

Hi there Chris

Go see a mechanic that has a air chisel. I have found that using a chisel to cut off the nut works best with least amount of damage to the wheel.  A “cut off wheel” might also work good too if you have room for it and you don’t think it will come in contact with an expensive aluminum wheel.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Question: I have a Toyota Camry v6 with 180 thousand miles on it.  Besides getting the oil changed I have not done much else to it.  For the last several months it has trouble starting in the after it has been sitting.  The engine doesn’t roll over.  I have been told that the solenoid is going bad.  I don’t have the funds right now to take the care to the shop.  I have been quoted 500 to 1200 for this to be fixed.

With directions can this be changed by an inexperienced person (me) and my husband who could watch and help but has become disabled and can not do much manual work anymore.  Or is this a job that only an experienced mechanic can do.  Also is it possible to just change the solenoid or does the entire starter have to be redone.  Thank you for your time.  I can’t afford a new car but since my husband has become disabled I have to have reliable transportation to get him to hospital at moments notice and we have a baby.

Have a Blessed Day!
Emily

Hi Emily

I would find another shop and get a second opinion.  You could have a battery problem or possibly a starter motor problem…I am assuming they are talking about replacing the starter motor solenoid, which is part of the starter motor and will be replaced when the starter is replaced.  I would guess at a starter motor replacement to be about $450 parts and labor.  This is something a mechanic should do for you.  You can also have your starter rebuilt which will save you some extra money if you have a starter and alternator shop in your area.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Question

Hi Austin,

I have a 2000 Subaru, in July 2008 I had the head gaskets redone, now less then one year later my car overheated and the mechanic put in a new radiator but it is still over heating, so he now says I need to pay another $2,000 and get the head gaskets done again, Can this be right? he says that because the radiator was 9 yrs old it just went bad and that is why it over heated,
Thanks Marti

Hey there Marti

I would DEFINITELY get a second opinion preferably from the dealership or Subaru specialist on this before you do anything. A simple cooling system pressure test can prove if you have a head gasket or other internal engine damage. If the engine overheated long enough, yes, you could have head gasket issues and a restricted radiator can be the cause of the overheating.

These articles might help you

Head Gasket Symptoms

Head Gasket Sealer Additive

Head gasket repair

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Question

Hi there,

I have a 1994 Toyota Camry that started overheating about a week after I bought it. It only does this at idle speeds. I had a pressure system check done, a new thermostat put in, and a new cooling fan installed. It stopped overheating for a couple of weeks, but then started doing it again.

One mechanic I took it to thought it was a blown head gasket, the other said he wasn’t sure if it was the head gasket, but put in the fan and thermostat. I have to add new coolant/water to it about every 3 days, and it takes about half a container each time. If I neglect to fill the radiator up it will overheat.

I never see anywhere that is leaking, and when it says its overheating I always pull over and inspect the engine and it does seem pretty hot. I have new radiator caps on and every time I take it for a pressure test they say there is no leak. Its driving me insane! I cant figure out what to do about this car! Any suggestions??
Thank you so much!
Laura

Howdy Laura,

You HAVE a coolant leak somewhere. I would highly suggest you go to the dealership or another mechanic and have them pressure test the cooling system….if you are adding coolant on a regular basis, there has to be a leak in the cooling system. The pressure test should also determine if you have a head gasket leak….but you did not mention anything about white smoke out the tailpipe, running rough or a check engine light coming on….I would expect to see those symptoms with a head gasket leak.

I would triple check the cooling fan is working correctly as well. Usually overheating at idle or slow speed complaints are related to an electric cooling fan that is not working. Get out of the car with the engine running when the engine is overheating, you should hear the cooling fan running up near the radiator if it is working correctly.

If for some reason a head gasket is indeed suspected, you might want to try this cheap over the counter head gasket sealer you can buy at any local auto parts store. I talk about this in more detail on these pages

Blown Head Gasket Symptoms

Head Gasket Block Sealer

Hopefully it is something relatively simple and easy to repair. Keep me posted please.

–
Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Question

Gooday, I saw your website and went through it and must confess that its very helpful. Please I have a problem regarding my car A/c, a Bmw 525, 1989 model. the Ac was no longer cooling so i went to a mechanic and filled the gas up. it again started cooling , but to my surprise 4 days later, it stopped cooling and blew hot air.

I went to the mechanic and was told that he suspect that this is a leakage but he would first dismantle one or two things to rectify the fault. but i told he to wait till am ready as i no longer have trust because this fault was not up before. please what can u suggest regarding this
.
God Bless,

Richy

Hello there Richy,

First off find another mechanic, hopefully one that is more qualified and has experience with BMW. They need to add the Freon gas to the system then check it for leaks with an electronic leak detector. That is the standard recommended procedure. If they don’t find a leak, ask them to install some fluorescent dye into the system, and when the Freon and dye leak out this time they can use a black light to find the trace of dye.

These dye/black light systems can be rented at most auto part stores in the U.S and many repair shops carry them and use them. Air conditioning work is the most expensive/profitable job….so make sure you get an honest experienced BMW mechanic!

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Question

About two months ago the check engine light on my 1996 3.8L V6 Chevy Camaro came on. I went to an auto parts store where they read the code and told me I needed a new EGR valve because mine was only function at 10% of what it should be. Well, my mechanic disagreed, saying the EGR valve should not go bad after only 90,000 miles.

So, I continued to drive it until it began misfiring violently at very random times. I took it back to my mechanic. He read the code which said their was a problem with the EGR valve pintel position. He took the valve off-it didn’t change the misfire. He said the valve appeared to be clean and not clogged with carbon.

He still didn’t believe the problem was with the EGR valve. He said the EGR valve should only make it misfire during idle, not at driving speeds. So, I drove it until it began to smoke. My father examined it and said my catalytic converter was clogged. So, $500 later the cat was replaced. The misfire continued until the computer was reset. Then, the car ran beautifully…for about two days.

Then, the check engine light came on with the same EGR pintel position code. My mechanic checked my coolant on a hunch and said he believe their was oil in the radiator because the fluid looked foamy. He said it could be caused by a blown head gasket. However, my radiator fluid (the orange gunk that only GM uses) has ALWAYS looked foamy and separated, and I’ve never had this problem or a loss of oil.

So, my question is do you think the code is still stuck in the computer? Or do you think the EGR valve is bad? Or perhaps a blown head gasket? Again, my mechanic said a head gasket would only cause a misfire while the car was warming up. And at this point, most of the misfiring comes after the car has warmed up.
Thanks!
Amy

Hello there Amy

You need to find a REAL mechanic, I don’t think this current one is capable of diagnosing a computer related problem like this….and he will probably spend 5 X’s more money guessing at parts rather than spending $85 for a proper diagnosis at the dealership.

You can always get this mechanic to do the repairs once you are sure what the problem is. Sounds like a problem with the EGR valve or a sensor connected with the EGR system…..but it could be something as simple as a bad spark plug wire causing the missfire and check engine light BUT an EGR code is stored in your memory.

If you just want to guess……then replace the EGR valve and cross your fingers.

Blessings,
Austin Davis

Reader Question

I have a Cad. Fleetwood, 8 Cylinder, 4-2 lit. has soft (swishhy) Brake pedal and both the brake and the antilock brake light comes one only when the brakes are applied–and does not stay on.

The brake fluid was low but the problem persists even after the fluid was full. There is no visible leakage anywhere that I can see..

Hey there

You could have a bad brake master cylinder, but you better get a mechanic to check it out first before you just replace it as a guess….its kinda a pricey guess. I would also pull the wheels off and check all the brake parts for brake fluid leaks or wear.

Reader Question
I usually get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube because they are convenient and I can’t crawl under my car and change my oil like I used to.

I got it changed there a few months ago and shortly thereafter my car started to overheat and the heater stopped working. If I revved the engine really high it would cool off and if I was idling the engine would get really hot but the heater still blew cold air (this was in February in Utah.

I decided to check my coolant thinking that maybe I needed to get it changed out. When I opened my coolant reservoir it looked like a melted chocolate milkshake… I even stuck my finger in to see what the consistency was… it was thicker than coolant but not by much.

I checked the oil and it was fine on the level and was still that greesy black color. I took my car to my normal mechanic and he said that first thing is that we should do a coolant flush, but that it sounds like my car has a blown head gasket.

I dropped the car off and talked to him the next day and he said that he can’t even get the car to drain, the coolant was too thick. I called the Jiffy Lube and asked the manager there if there was any way it could have been them, he said that the coolant must have gotten bad some other way.

I had the thought that they may have added oil to the coolant instead of the oil resivoir… He ensured me that there was no way they would have done that, but he flushed most of the old coolant out for me and filled it back up with clean, and yes, he did not flush all of the bad coolant, but a great deal… it was chunky.

He also topped off my oil that was now really low. My heater started to work again, but the engine still overheated. My shop guy told me that in order to get my gasket replaced I have to pay $900. I haven’t driven my car since and when I started it I could tell there was coolant somewhere in the engine because of the white smoke and the antifreeze smell.

My question comes to these:

1. Why was the antifreeze chunky and the oil didn’t have any issues at all?

2. I know you’re going to suggest a compression test, is there any way to do that without going to a shop… I am really short on cash and can’t even really afford the $65 or so

3. Is there any other way to tell if you have a blown head gasket? How good is the K&W product and is there any chance it will make my engine worse?

4. Lastly, how hard is it to change out a head gasket? I am pretty good with cars, I just hate working on my only vehicle…

~Brooke

Hey there Brooke

So your engine is overheating……all the time, or just at idle speeds? You DO have white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe??? Does the engine miss-fire and run bad and does the check engine light come on? Are you continually adding coolant to the radiator?? I would expect all these things to be happening if you had a blown head gasket or an internal coolant leak.

Has your mechanic performed a cooling system pressure test to see if there is a leak in the system? If not get another mechanic, that is the first thing you do in a situation like this!!

I am not real sure what the junk is inside your radiator….it could just be rust, which I have seen “chunks” of rust in a cooling system before and the rusty water will look almost orange/chocolate appearance.

If you were in my shop I would FIRST pressure test the cooling system for leaks….this should also tell you if you have a leak internally to the engine like a blown head gasket. A compression test will tell you if the engine is worn out or there is an internal mechanical problem….which I don’t think you have.

If the pressure test shows that there IS an internal coolant leak then yes, by all means try the K&W Block Seal Additive I talk about on my site….I assume you read my article on how to use it (not like the directions on the can tell you how to use it) but here is the link again

Head Gasket Sealer Additive

If your mechanic even suspects there is an internal coolant leak…I would use the K&W additive anyway….it wont hurt anything if you don’t have a leak.

I have a STRONG feeling you will need to replace your radiator though BEFORE you try the block additive. If you have chunks of stuff in your radiator you most definitely have some restriction in your radiator and “flushing” will NOT remove the junk at the bottom of the radiator that is restricting your coolant flow to the engine.

You can get a fairly cheap after market radiator for this vehicle and install it yourself then do the block sealer trick.

The heater core is basically a small radiator inside the dashboard, so I would suspect your heater core is restricted with what ever this chunky stuff is hampering your heater operation. You might be able to remove both heater hoses under the hood and flush out your heater core with a water hose to remove any loose debris that is lodged in there.

Also you need to replace the thermostat….anytime you replace the radiator or do anything to the cooling system.

Keep me posted will ya?

Blessings,
Austin Davis